Ordinary Day
by wotchertonks7
Summary: Seventh year. Severus and Lily are going to the New Year’s Ball together. However, James and the Marauders will go to any lengths to keep them apart.
1. Friends and Partners

Title: Ordinary Day

Author: wotchertonks7

Fandom: Harry Potter

Pairing: Severus/Lily

Rating: T

Summary: Seventh year. Severus and Lily are going to the New Year's Ball together. However, James and the Marauders will go to any lengths to keep them apart.

Warnings: Non-canon, spoilers, twist.

Disclaimer: Don't own them; wish I did. They belong to J.K.

Author's Note: I became a Severus/Lily fan back when it was just a rumor after "Snape's Worst Memory" in "Order of the Phoenix," and it's only grown stronger thanks to "Deathly Hallows." There is something about the tragic, star-crossed lovers that I love so much.

The title comes from the Vanessa Carlton song.

This is my first Harry Potter fanfic, so I hope that you enjoy it.

**Ordinary Day"**

Just a day,

Just an ordinary day.

Just trying to get by.

Just a boy,

Just an ordinary boy.

But he was looking to the sky.

-Vanessa Carlton

Chapter 1: Friends and Partners

"Look at that. Enough to make you want to puke!"

James nudges me and gestures with his head towards the courtyard entrance. I glance up from my book, if only to humor him.

Two figures are hurrying up the path from Hogsmead to escape the sudden snowstorm. The redheaded girl is wearing a green-tinged coat that is too large for her, and a green and silver scarf around her neck. The tall boy with dark hair and no coat or scarf has his arm protectively around her shoulders.

The girl laughs and begins to dance in the snow around the sullen boy, trying her best to make him join her. Eventually the boy gives up his struggle and twirls the girl, round and round. The trees over their heads glitter silver and gold in the late afternoon light. She laughs again and falls into his arms. Her cheeks and lips are pink from the cold. She tilts her chin upwards as he leans in closer to her.

James releases a stinging hex and catches the boy in the back. The boy yelps and instantly withdraws his own wand.

"Potter!" Lily shouts. "You're such a toerag!"

"Alright, Evans?" James keeps his wand pointed his wand at the boy. "This creep getting you all greasy?"

Snape scowls. "Bugger off, Big-Head Potter!"

James winces a bit. He does not care for the name he knows some call him behind his back. "Gonna fight back, Snivelly? Got it in you?"

Snape raises his wand. I can see Sirius and Peter do likewise behind James. All three are ready to blast the Slytherin to pieces should he try something. Yet Snape is not intimidated in the least. His wand stays level with James'. I pretend to read my book. Let them get it out of their systems.

Lily puts a timid hand on Snape's sleeve. Snape notices this and sighs. Slowly he lowers his arm. "You're not even worth it, Potter."

"Coward," James hisses.

"Five points from Gryffindor!" Lily exclaims.

"What?" shouts Sirius. "You'd take points from your own House over that wanker?"

"I just did! And another five points off for Lupin!"

That got my attention. I stood up. "But I didn't do anything, Lily."

Her green eyes flash at me and I know I had said the wrong thing.

"Exactly! You never do anything whenever you're friends are making mischief. Five points from a Prefect who won't do his duty!" She pulls her companion with her into the castle.

Long after dinner Lily finally returns to the Gryffindor common room. James is waiting by the front door for her.

"What was that little display this afternoon?" he asks.

"You mean your acting like a complete ass and me knocking you back down on it?" she answers. The green and silver scarf is still wrapped about her shoulders.

I remain in my favorite chair by the fireplace. From here I can see everything that is going on over the top of my book. There really is no point trying to get involved when those two are having a go.

"Look, if you wanted to make me jealous, bravo." James clapped his hands together. "You've succeeded, all right? Now drop the act and we can—"

"I beg your pardon. What act?"

"Oh, come off it, Lils. That act of you and Snivellus. You can't possibly be serious. You're having a go at me."

"Oh, am I?" Lily's face is yellow now. "You think I'm with Severus for _your_ benefit, do you?"

"Well, come on. He's an ugly, little spotted frog and you're a lovely princess."

"Oh stuff it!" she says. "Do you even realize how stupid you sound right now?"

"Face it, Lils. Frogs and princesses just don't go together. Everyone knows that. Everyone's been whispering about you."

"As if I care what everybody thinks."

"You care about what your friends think, don't you?" Sirius says. "We're concerned about you spending time with a dark—"

"Sev is _not_ a dark wizard!" she shouts.

"He's a Sytherin, and they're all in that group off to join You-Know-Who. Don't you remember what he called you in fifth year?"

"I do." Lily's cheeks turn red. "But that was two years ago. Sure, he was lost for a while but he's changed now. I see that he's not the way he used to be. He's not with that crowd of Slytherins anymore, not dabbling in dark magic for fun. Besides, I also remember that it was you lot picking on him that pushed him over the edge in the first place. If you'd just give him a chance."

"How do you know he's changed?"

"He has! He's mature now. You boys should try it sometime."

"I'm mature," says James.

"Mature for a dung beetle."

"He's in Slytherin! And say what you will, snakes can't change their skin."

Lily rolls her eyes. "Honestly. Is his House and his appearance the only problems you have?"

"No! You should be with me!" James drops his voice. "We were getting along this year, yeah? I thought we were. I-I thought you were starting to like me."

"Oh, James," Lily softens as well. "I'm really sorry. I was starting to like you. You did seem different this year, but then Sev came back and we became friends again, and…. He's a good man who cares about me. I'm with Sev now. I love him. Please leave us alone."

He reaches for her arm. "Go with me to the New Year's Ball. You'll see that we can be good together. Go with me and I'll never bother Snape again."

She shakes her head. "I'm going with Severus." Gently, she withdraws her arm. "I really am sorry, James." Lily darts up the stairs to the girl's dormitory.

James watches her leave, his face darkens into an expression that I have come to know only too well, and I fear what is about to come. I jump up from my seat and pat him on the arm.

"Maybe you should just back off this one, Prongs," I say as gently as possible. James is known for his impetuous nature, which is dangerous anywhere but on the Quidditch field.

As usual, he acts as if I had said nothing at all. "She's just playing hard to get. That's all. She wants to go with me to the Ball."

"She has a boyfriend. And Lily's not a fool, James. If she says Snape has changed…."

"Dark wizards do not change!" Sirius spits. "Believe me, I've lived with an entire family of them, all spouting pure-blood trifle for my entire life. That sort of mania doesn't just go away. I'll bet the sneaky git did something, like… like used a love potion or something like that."

Dammit, Sirius, I think to myself. Every time James gets a bad idea into his head there is Sirius to make it even worse. "I very much doubt—"

"I don't know," ads Peter. "Snape's top of Potions class. He'd have no problem whipping up a love potion."

That is all James needs to hear. "I knew it! He's using dark magic on her! That's why she likes him all of a sudden. That slimy, arrogant, worthless… _Slytherin!_"

As usual, it falls on me to keep my friends from doing something stupid. "Excuse me, but there is absolutely no proof that Snape has used a love potion. Lily is showing none of the symptoms, save for a girl who is in a real relationship of her own choice, mind. James, I really think you ought to let this go."

"The lady's honor is in need of defending! What say you, my brothers? Shall we put a stop to this dark wizard's evil treachery?" Peter and Sirius cheer for James. "I've got the perfect plan to dispose of the creep and save the maiden fair."

"You've finally gone round the twist," I say at last. For a few disturbing seconds, James looks like he might hit me.

"You're either with us or against us, Mooney." Now all three of my friends are glaring coldly at me. "Are you a Marauder or not?"

I feel my courage drain away, as it always does in these situations. "What… what did you have in mind, exactly?"


	2. Pranks and Cabinets

Chapter 2: Pranks and Cabinets

Oh bugger! Is all I can think right now.

I know that James has fancied Lily for as long as any of us can remember. I also know that for all that time Lily has rejected James' advances, due to what James unkindly refers to as "Lily's Shadow."

Severus Snape.

How exactly has it come to this point? I wonder as I check the Marauder's Map to make sure that the hallways are all clear. I wait for the tiny dot labeled "Argus Filch" to disappear and wave my arm. "Let's go. It's only round the next bend."

"Hurry up, can't you?" Sirius grunts under the Invisibility Cloak. "The skinny bastard's heavier than he looks."

"Keep it down!" I say. We pass that dumb tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy. I concentrate real hard and the doorway forms in the middle of the wall. The doors open and we step inside.

"Took you long enough!" James says and closes the doors once he is sure that Sirius is inside. "What did you do, stop for tea and crumpets on the way?"

"Sod off, mate!" Sirius throws off the Cloak and drops his bundle on the floor with a dull thump. "Had to wait for a damn Slytherin to say the password before I could sneak into their common room, didn't I? Then I had to wait for everyone to clear off so Snape would be alone. Wanker didn't go down easy, though." He points to an angry red welt on his cheek. "Must've sensed that I was there. Guess we've played too many pranks on him with the Cloak for Snivelly not to suspect something. Managed to Stupefy him before he could alert the rest of them, thank Merlin."

I go stand by the door, watching to make sure that no one will hear us. I want this business over with as quickly as possible.

"Nicely done, Padfoot," says James. He searches the unconscious boy and relieves Snape of his wand. He then points his own wand at Snape and says, "Enervate."

Snape slowly comes to. His eyes go wide once he realizes the predicament he is in.

"Alright, Snivellus? You looking for _this_?" James waves the ebony wand in his left hand. "Thought it was time we had a chat, you and I."

Snape stands up, keeping a wary eye on his attackers. "Well, what do you want to talk about, Potter?"

"The fact that you insist on bothering my girlfriend."

Snape sneers at James. "You never mean Lily."

"Of course I mean Lily, you prat! She's _my_ girl and I don't appreciate you—"

"The last time I checked, Lily had a mind of her own. And I hate to break it to you, but _your girl_ and I have been dating since the summer."

James thrust his wand into Snape's throat, his eyes are bright with malice. "You did something to her. I know you did! Some love potion. How else would any girl fancy an ugly frog like _you_?"

Snape merely shakes his head. "No, nothing of the sort. You can take the matter to Dumbledore if you like. Although, I don't think he'll be too chuffed with you lot kidnapping me. Not his Golden Gryffindor Boys. After that prank with the Shrieking Shack, I don't think he'll be so lenient this time."

I wince inwardly but continue to peer through the tiny crack in the door. Should a professor wander past now…. I do not want to think of the kind of trouble we'll be in.

James' wand burns into Snape's neck. The Slytherin scowls but does not back down. I might be impressed by his determination, if it was under different circumstances.

"You're going to stop seeing Lily," James hisses, "and we'll let you walk out of here, right?"

"And if I have no intention of complying?"

"Then we have a problem. Lily is _my girl_, see? And she's going with me to the New Year's Ball. Now you just back off and everyone will be in their proper places. You continue to scrounge after girls who are much higher up than your level and I'll have to do something about it." Again he waves Snape's wand tantalizingly near the boy's face. "Want this, don't you? Like to curse me? Or would you bugger off like this morning?"

"Believe me, Potter, there would be nothing more satisfying to me than seeing you as a giant slug." He draws back his shoulders and stands a bit taller. Much taller than James, and my mate is aware of it. "Disappointing as it may be, I promised Lily no more Dark magic, and I believe in keeping my promises."

James is positively yellow now. "You _will_ leave Lily or—"

"Plan on trying to feed me to your werewolf again, Potter?" Snape shouts. "Do it then, because I'm never leaving Lily! Not ever. I love her, and a selfish pig like you can't stop that!"

Goddamn fool! Is this Snape's way of getting back at us for all these years of bullying? I wish he had not been so honest about his feelings. This would be so much easier if he really was just a slimy git trying to steal my best mate's girl. Why the hell does he have to be so noble all of a sudden?

"Wrong answer, Snivellus," James shakes his head. "Not that I expected a Slytherin worm to be any smarter than this, but you leave me with no choice. Peter?"

Snape looks over his shoulder. Peter is standing by a large ornate, cabinet. Snape's eyes go wide in recognition. "Is that—you cannot…. YOU CANNOT! Those things are considered a level six danger—"

James hits him with a full body lock curse. "You're making me do this, Snively. Just say that you'll never see Lily again and this never happens. You can go back to your hole and become a good little Death Eater, like a proper Slytherin boy. Quite being such a berk!"

"Please, Severus," I find myself saying. "Just do what they ask and get it over with. It's really the easiest choice."

He stares at me, fury etched on every line on his face. "Don't do this. You're a Prefect, for Merlin's sake. You don't know what you're doing!"

"We know perfectly well," James jeers, as happy and casual as if playing a game of gobbstones. "Now you'll be cozy in here until after the Ball, then we may come and let you out, if we remember you. If not, we'll, it's not like anyone will even notice, or care for that matter." He and the other two Marauders laugh. "Open her up, Peter."

Peter does so. Snape's jaw is set with determination despite the fear that is making his body tremble. He looks to me, pleading, though I know that it must be killing him to do so. "Please. Don't do this!"

My hands are white on the walls. I turn my back to look out the entrance again simple because I cannot stand to watch. Cannot.

"Remus!"

Just get on with it, Prongs.

"Last chance, Snape." I hear James say.

"Go to Hell!" Snape shouts back.

I want to say something, but woe be it if I should defy the will of my friends. I'd be branded _The_ _Werewolf_ and promptly cast aside to join the other outcasts of the school. Like Snape.

There is more shouting and whooping and the sound of struggling. Finally a cry is cut off by the loud slam of a cabinet door. I look back and James is clasping hands with Peter and Sirius. Sirius makes a drum roll on the door before whipping it open again, only this time it is empty. Snape is gone.

"Ha!" Sirius punches his fist in the air and lets the door close. "It worked! Lovely Vanishing Cabinet."

"Where do you suppose he's gone to, eh?" Peter asks.

"Who cares?" James yawns and throws the ebony wand at me. "Let's clear off."

I almost take a step back toward the Cabinet when James throws an arm over my shoulders and pulls me along with him, like we are returning from winning the Quidditch House Cup. I have never been fond of the Slytherins, Severus Snape included, but I never thought the day would come when I would fell sorry for the git.

"Remus." A stricken voice shakes me from my doze. I sit up straighter and try to pretend that I did not just fall asleep in Transfiguration class.

"Remus, have you seen Severus?" Lily whispers from her seat in front of mine. Her face is white and nervous and looks like she hasn't slept a wink either. "It's been three days and nobody has seen or heard from him. It's like he vanished."

The word leaves a foul taste in my mouth. "Are you sure?"

"Yes!" Her voice rises a notch, and then settles so as not to alert Professor McGonagall. "He's missed our presentation in Professor Slughorn's class and he would never miss a project he's worked so hard on. Also, he wouldn't just go somewhere without telling me." She bites her lip until it's as red as pomegranates.

I twist in my seat and hope that she does not notice. "Maybe he had trouble at home?"

"I already asked Slughorn. He said he hasn't seen Severus in days. If there was trouble, don't you think he'd have gone to his Head of House first?"

James leans over from my opposite side. "Maybe it was the kind of trouble he didn't want to alert his Head to, if you take my meaning."

Lily glares at him. "No. What do you mean, pray tell?"

"Only that maybe Snape's got himself into a fix that he can't get out of. You know, a _dark_ fix." He gestured a thumb towards Avery and Rosier; two admitted Slytherin Death Eaters.

"I already told you," Lily hisses, "Sev isn't with those boys anymore."

"Then where is he? And if he's done nothing wrong then why didn't he tell you where he was going?"

Lily opens her mouth, and then closes it again. Her cheeks are pink and her lower lip begins to tremble. Another moment and she will be in tears. "Remus, what do you think?" she asks.

If Apparition was possible within Hogwarts, I would have long since left the classroom. James nudges me and I have the urge to throw my book at him.

"Last day I saw him was when you two were in that snow storm," I say, and it is the truth.

Lily hangs her head and shifts back around in her seat. I can see her shoulders tremble slightly and know that she has lost her battle with tears. James gives me a grand smile. I sink back into my studies, hoping not to be sick all over my desk.

Only four more days to that blasted Ball, and it cannot come soon enough.


	3. Dances and Redemption

Chapter 3: Dances and Second Chances

I enter the Great Hall a step behind my mates. I am too tired to act as if I want to be here. The Hall is enchanted to resemble the inside of a giant snow globe. Crystal icicles and frosted evergreen trees sparkle all around excited couples dancing in their finery.

James trots over to greet Lily in her rose colored gown. She is beautiful and bewitching and completely miserable. She looks little better than I feel, as if she's been ill with fret for the past week.

James tries to coax Lily out onto the dance floor. She gives him a weak smile at best. Her green eyes are flitting over the crowd when she gasps.

I follow her sight and nearly lose control of my legs. No longer a frog, but every bit a prince; there stands Severus Snape in a stylish dress robe of green and black. Only it doesn't _look_ like Snape at all. Perhaps it was his hair pulled back in a tail so his face was visible — or perhaps it was the fact that he was smiling.

"Severus!" Lily cries with overwhelming relief and pushes past James. She runs across the hall and embraces the boy. "Where have you been? I've been so worried! Not a word in all this time. No one knew where you were and James said… James said that you joined… You-Know-Who."

Severus merely gazes at her, his face uncharacteristically serene, like he cannot believe that she is real.

Lily grows upset. "Are you listening to me? I was scared out of my mind! Why are you looking at me like that?"

He places a gentle hand on her cheek and she goes silent. Then, in one smooth motion he cups her face and kisses her.

"I'm sorry, Lily," he says, "but I had to do that, just once before the night ends."

When she recovers she says, "Where… where have you been? James said —"

Severus shakes his head. "He was misinformed. I'm sorry that I scared you, Lily. It wasn't my intention."

"Oh, I don't care!" She throws her arms around him. "You're here now. That's all that matters."

Severus offers his arm. "May I have this dance?" She accepts and he guides her to the center of the room.

The band starts to play a waltz. They begin to whirl around the dance floor. Dumbledore, who is dancing with McGonagall, gives them a smile.

James flops into his seat and glowers at the dancing couple. Sirius passes him a flask, and James takes a hefty swig. I am simultaneously thrilled and terrified.

I feel my heart begin to race, the way it does days before the full moon arrives. There's a tension in the air only I seem to be aware of, or able to prevent. James, confident on firewhisky now, goes to claim his dance with Lily. Snape kisses Lily's hand and permits James to take his place.

Snape stands to the side where watches Lily with a fondness almost to the point of worship. Lily sends him a beaming smile and he seems to glow.

Finally, I work up the nerve to approach the Slytherin. "Uhm, Severus," I mutter. "It's a relief to see you here."

Snape continues on, as if he does not hear me.

"I went back to the Room of Requirement a few hours after they had shut you in that Cabinet." I tug nervously at my collar. "But I couldn't get the doors to open. I tried every unlocking spell I could think of. I even came back every hour every day after that, thinking, hoping, that it had something to do with the timing. I have not slept in a week."

"Did you go to a professor for help?" Snape's voice is calm, without any trace of anger.

I blush. "I… it… I wanted to—"

"By then you were too afraid of getting your friends in even more trouble than they already were. Poor Remus. Always so afraid of your _problem_ that you would do anything to keep the friends you had. Even if they did wrong. And you a Prefect, too."

"I am not proud of how I acted," I choke. "It was stupid and reckless and could've gotten you seriously hurt. But, thank Merlin you are here! How did you manage to get out of that Cabinet when I couldn't get it to work?"

"It was broken, you see. That's why Filch put it in the Room with the rest of the magical junk he could not repair. He had placed it all there out of harm's way. I do not think he believed that students knew how to get into the Room, too, or would have destroyed it long ago." Snape faces me at last. "I don't blame you for what happened. None of you meant for it to turn out the way it did. But you did go through with it, and then you all went on with your lives."

"I tried—"

"I know you did, but too little too late."

Then the oddest thing happens. Snape does not sneer, nor scold like he usually does. Instead he softens, as if nothing matters to him anymore. I almost wish the Slytherin will shout at me; punch me, anything but be so bloody understanding.

"You turned your back so many times while your mates tormented me. Did you enjoy having others hurt me while you kept your hands clean? Why keep the Prefect badge at all?"

"That's not..." I turn red. "I'm sorry, all right?" I had a job to do and I chose my mates instead! What do you want from me?"

"You're going to have to tell Dumbledore, Remus. No backing out of it or feigning innocence this time. You have to be a man and do this for me."

"Severus, please!" I am close to panic now. "I said I was sorry. Can't that be enough? Dumbledore trusted me; let me attend school when no one else would even look my way. He made me a Prefect. How can I tell him that I…. It will ruin so many lives. Please don't make me. I'll be kicked out for my condition!"

"Are you blaming what you lot did to me on your condition?"

"No! No, but people like me don't get second chances."

Snape places a surprisingly gentle hand on my shoulder. "Second chances are more important than you realize, Remus. Be careful what you do with it."

"Since when is a Slytherin so concerned with doing the right thing?"

He blinks. "Your friends kidnapped me and shut me in a Cabinet all because of a dance. Isn't that unbecoming behavior for Gryffindors?"

I sink. My stomach is eating itself with guilt. Only a Slytherin would know how to use a person's weakness against him like an art form. For a moment I consider casting a Memory Charm on him, but realize that I will not go through with it. He must know that I can do nothing for he is still smiling at me.

Where the hell did Snape learn to act like a human being?

James is now trying to slow dance with Lily. She makes a gesture to Snape that she might be sick.

He laughs. "Lily really is the most wonderful witch in the wizarding world. I promised her that I'd dance with her tonight, and I promised myself that I'd finally pluck up the courage and tell her how I feel about her. Lily forgave me for my mistake, so I can forgive you, Remus. People can change, after all. I think I go save Lily before Potter squashes her toes again."

"Wait a moment." I reach into my pocket and produce an ebony wand. "I meant to return this to you earlier."

Snape gazes at it as one might reminisce over a long-forgotten childhood toy. "Thank you, but I don't need it now. It was good of you though, Remus. I appreciate it." He turns and goes to tap James on the shoulder.

I find Sirius and help myself to his flask. With any luck, I will not remember what happened here tonight.

Several dances, and drinks later, Snape is still dancing with Lily. James and Sirius are very drunk now and whispering in low voices with Peter. The cold feeling in the pit of my stomach alerts me of danger as well as any Dark Detector. I sneak over to a table not far from Lily and even though I know it's not polite to eavesdrop on a friend, I do it anyway.

"This is the happiest night I've ever had." I hear Snape say to Lily. She has her head on his shoulder while they slowly move to the music.

"I thought I was supposed to say that," she says.

"Be faster next time. You have made me happier than I ever thought possible. I wanted to thank you, Lily."

She laughs and holds him tighter. His hands brush her hair and back. She sighs. "Why didn't we do this sooner?"

"I believe that I was a stupid fool is your answer."

"And I was a stubborn mule for holding a pointless grudge all the while. We could have had a whole extra year like this. I was so foolish."

"I needed that time," he says. "Else I never would have sorted myself out. You know, you saved me that day by the lake."

"I saved? I called you horrible things and fed you back to those awful boys."

"If not for you I would have joined those _awful_ boys and we both know that would not have ended well. You make me want to be a better person."

She bites her lip. I am painfully aware that I should not hear any of this, yet I want to. I need to.

"I love you, Lily." Snape continues. "I didn't realize how much I longed for love until I knew your friendship. And when I had spoiled that… the nights were so dark, so empty. Then you came back and it felt like the sun after a long storm. It is more than someone like me deserves."

She looks up into his eyes. "Don't be so hard on yourself, you dolt. I love you, faults and all. You are a good man, Sev. I always knew that. It's why I came back, but _you_ made me want to stay."

I cannot believe this is the same boy we always teased; the one we looked down on and branded an oddball for all to see. How was it that none of us saw the good in him before? Was it that he chose to hide the best of himself? Or did we just not want to see past our favorite punching bag?

He kisses her again and crushes her against him. "I loved you all along. I'm sorry that we didn't get more time together."

"What do you mean?"

"I want you to be happy. Please don't give up on hope."

"Sev, you're not making much sense."

"I miss you." The last was barely a whisper.

"Oi, Snivellus!"

All three of us jump at an unfriendly shout. James and Sirius are back and from the looks of them they are raring for a fight. I curse at their stupidity and look around, hoping to find a professor before things turn ugly.

"Quit leaning on my girl, Snape!" James slurs. "You'll get grease stains all over her!"

"Go away, James," demands Lily. "You're drunk."

"Ooh," laughs Sirius who is just as wasted as James. "You gonna take orders from a bird now, Prongs?"

"Hell, maybe she likes having the git's slime all over her," James goes on. "Is that it, Lils? You like being a whore for that nasty—"

James is unable to finish his sentence as he's knocked to the ground by a well-released punch to his nose.

"You don't talk to her like that, Potter. No matter what." Snape grins sheepishly at Lily and shakes his fist. "That felt good."

Sirius is too shocked to retaliate and instead goes to assist his mate. Hell, I'm shocked, too. That was bloody impressive! Snape is full of surprises tonight.

The clock begins to chime midnight. Students are counting down the New Year.

Snape takes Lily's face in his hands. His eyes hold all the sadness and longing that ever was. "I'll always love you, Lily. Always." He turns and flees the Great Hall.

James, Sirius and Peter are after him in a flash; their wands drawn and ready to hex him into oblivion. Lily shouts for them to stop, but when the do not, she quickly follows. A moment later and I join in the chase. I already know where they were going.

Sure enough, I just manage to turn the corner to see Lily duck into the Room of Requirement. I am right behind her.

"Come on out of there, Snivelly," James mock-sings, his wand tapping on the edge of the wooden cabinet. He tugs on a handle and laughs when it won't open. "You could've picked a better hiding place."

"Yeah," adds Sirius. "Come out before we turn the thing into a pile of splinters." He and Peter hold their wands on the doors. "One… two…."

"Stop it!" Lily shouts. "Bullying gits! You back off!"

"Or what, Evans?"

"Or I'll have you suspended! I am Head Girl, after all."

"And I'm Head Boy," says James.

"Funny, you're not acting like it!"

"Might I ask for an explanation?"

We all turn. Headmaster Dumbledore is standing at the entrance. Obviously he knows about this Room, too. "Students are really not supposed to be in here," he says in a flat tone. "It can be dangerous, all these forgotten artifacts strewn about."

The Marauders put their wands away. Lily breathes easy again and goes to the cabinet. "Sev, it's okay. It's over, you can come out." She pulls on the handles but they will not budge.

Dumbledore rushes forward as if he had been afraid such a thing would happen. "Out of the way, Ms. Evans!" He pushes Lily aside, raps on the cabinet and speaks several garbled words.

The doors open and Snape crumbles to the floor at their feet.

"Sev?" Lily cries and falls to her knees beside him. "Sev? Baby?" She shakes him. His black eyes are wide and empty.

"Move!" Professor Dumbledore exclaims. He kneels over Snape, checking for a heartbeat.

I pull Lily back, as confused as everyone else. Snape had already escaped the Cabinet. Why did he return? And why did it hurt him this time?

The Headmaster points his wand at Snape's chest and hits him with a blue light. Snape's body jerks then goes limp once more. Dumbledore blasts him again and again. No response.

Finally, Dumbledore stops. The old Headmaster lowers his wand and gazes down gravely at his student. My hands are trembling on Lily's arms.

"Sir, why are you stopping?" Lily says, fearful. She pulls out of my grip and tends to Snape. "What's wrong? He was only in that cabinet for about a minute. Severus, joke's over. Get up now."

"Lily," says Dumbledore, his voice breaking. "There's nothing more I can do. I'm so sorry."

"Severus!" She shakes him harder but he does not stir. "Severus! _Severus!_"

From the hallway I can hear happy couples celebrating the New Year. Music is playing and students are singing. It is quite a different scene than it is from this side.


	4. Aftermath and Life Decisions

Aftermath and Life Decisions

x

The teachers try to isolate the Room of Requirement, but once word got out, all the students _needed_ to see what was happening and the Room complied by removing an entire wall. Filch and Hagrid clear as many onlookers as they can but more continue to slip inside, hoping to catch a glimpse of the body.

I sit with my back against an old crate. My knuckles are crammed between my teeth to stop a scream from escaping. Tears continue spill down my face. I no longer try to wipe them away.

Sometime during the commotion I see Sirius run past me and down the hallway. I know that my friend has left the school, never to return. Sirius will go back to the family he always claimed to hate; he'll take refuge in the Black family name and wealth. Hell, they may even be proud of him at last, with the death of a bloodtraitor on his hands.

Snape had been right about unbecoming behavior for Gryffindors.

Lily sobs into Professor McGonagall's arms while Dumbledore and Madame Pomfrey examine the body.

"Stone dead, Albus," says the school's Healer. "Boy looks to have died some time ago. No telling with these crazy Vanishing Cabinets. Bloody hazardous things! What in the name of Merlin was he doing messing about with one anyway?"

"Shocking!" Madame Hooch wrung her gloved hands together. "How long do you suppose a human being could survive the limbo inside one of those?"

"Without a wand, food or water? A few days." Dumbledore's words are without energy. "Certainly not a week."

"But he was at the Ball," says Professor Slughorn. "We all saw him dancing with Ms. Evans. Dear, dear boy. Tragic. Tragic. How could he be there if you claim he was dead already? Impossible."

"He wasn't a ghost," squeaks tiny Professor Flitwick. "He gave young Potter quite a blow. Left a black eye behind as proof. Hardly the work of a shade."

"How was it done, Albus?" asks Madame Pomfrey. "Unless the boy had a Time-Turner or some Polyjuice Potion."

"He had promised to dance with Lily," I say at last. My voice cuts through the air like a razor. "And Severus Snape believed in keeping his promises."

Then I confess. All of it. James turns white and Peter moans into his hands.

Lily turns eyes of fire upon me, eyes that burn darker the longer I speak. I try to imagine her thoughts. Her friends have played their last prank on the boy they had tormented for all those years. The boy she loved. They have caused him harm and then lied to her about it.

But I have a promise to keep myself, and this time I will not forgo my responsibility. I can do this much for Severus.

I sit in the courtyard along side of Peter, waiting for the Ministry cars that will take us back to our homes.

James had been escorted away by Azkaban guards hours earlier. He had confessed to having planned the entire joke himself and accepted the full blame, sparing Peter and myself from further retribution. His father's solicitor will see that James does the minimum sentence, I'm sure. In the end, I think that my friend genuinely regretted his actions.

Lily comes into the courtyard, dragging her trunk behind her. She notices that we are also there and she sneers at me, very Snape-like. I wince to see my once close friend regard me with such hatred.

"A-are you going somewhere, Lily?" I ask, tentatively.

After a while she decides to answer. "Home. I cannot stay here. Not now. Not without…. Dumbledore's cleared the rest of my term for me."

"Well, that's good, isn't it?" Peter says and attempts to smile but looks back down at her fury.

"So," I go on. "You are, ah, leaving school, then?"

She shrugs. "Dunno. I'm thinking of coming back after break. I asked the Headmaster about taking extra courses. I've decided to become an Auror."

"Really? Why?"

"So when I get my license I can hunt down that scum Black and send him to Azkaban where he belongs!"

She sounds so different from the girl I knew, the girl who had been like a sister to me just a few hours ago.

"I don't see why we got in trouble." Peter mutters into his coat. "It's not like we did it. It was all James and Sirius. We didn't do anything wrong."

"We did," I say, my voice heavy. "We all went through with our prank, not caring how it would end. Well, this is where it got us."

"I shouldn't have been sacked from Hogwarts. I didn't do anything wrong! I'm innocent! Potter was the idiot. My mum's gonna kill me!" Peter puts his head in his hands.

I am sick to my stomach by my once closest friends. One ran away, one will depend on his fortune to save his hide, and one will never accept that he had done harm in the first place. All this time I have been friends with them because I was just like them. A coward.

"Lily…" I mutter. "Are… Are you going to be all right?"

She looks at me and smiles; her eyes are full of tears. "No. No, I'm not. He really loved me. He came back just so we could have one last dance together. No one will ever love me more than Severus Snape."

The truth of her statement is indisputable. I cannot argue with it, but I cannot let things go the way they are.

"I didn't want him to get hurt, Lily. You have to believe that. We didn't know that it was dangerous. You have—"

She is clutching the green and silver scarf to her chest and I give up the plea I had prepared. I remove the ebony wand I keep at my side all the time now; a reminder of what our actions–or lack thereof–can lead us to.

Maybe she will forgive me, in time, and maybe I will be able to forgive my friends. After all, Severus said that people can change.

END

x

A/N: I really love Severus and Lily and want them to be together. Unfortunately, it did not work out in this story. Someone always wants to drive them apart, and sometimes true love's kiss is not enough to break the evil spell.

My inspiration came from a musical called "Steel Pier," a charming ghost/love story. I didn't want to make it obvious till the end that Severus was at the dance only on borrowed time. I know that J.K. has decreed that there is no magic on earth that can bring people back from the dead. However, she has also stated that love is the greatest power of all. Somehow, through the powers that be, or through the power of love, Severus was allowed one last dance with Lily. I'm gonna pull a "Twilight Zone" explanation. Sev _was_ at the Ball but he was also trapped inside the Vanishing Cabinet the entire time. I'll leave it to the imagination.

I started out with the intention of showing the character development between Sev and Lily, but it soon became clear that it was Remus who was going through the real journey here. I like Remus' amiable character, although I find him very flawed and often cowardly. I wanted to put him in the ultimate test against peer pressure and see how he would respond. Like all high school boys, the need to be popular doesn't always lead to the right decisions.

I chose the title for this story from Vanessa Carlton's song "Ordinary Day," because when I hear it I imagine Sev and Lily dancing at the Ball. The rest of the story evolved around that happy image.


End file.
